1. Field of Invention
The present invention generally relates to the baling of hay or similar material and more specifically to a hay bale ventilator in the form of an attachment for the plunger of a hay baler to progressively form a central bore or passageway through the hay bale as it is formed by the hay baler thereby reducing the tendency of hay bales to mold in the center thereof due to the moisture content of the material being baled.
The hay bale ventilator is in the form of a support plate having a tapered pointed member extending therefrom with the plate being mounted on the plunger of the hay baler and the pointed member forming a hole or passageway through each segment of the hay bale as it is formed. The pointed member is of two-piece construction having a wear-resistant heat treated pointed tip removably mounted on a larger cylindrical member connected with the plate with the pointed tip and the cylindrical member being tapered to assure that a hole or passageway will be formed without the hay sticking to the pointed member as it reciprocates with the plunger on the baler. The cylindrical member, in one embodiment includes radially extending ribs extending throughout the length of the cylindrical member to form a generally square hole through a hay bale.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Attachments for hay baler plungers to form a bore or passageway in a hay bale are generally known as disclosed in the following U.S. Pat. Nos.:
253,536 PA1 960,796 PA1 2,420,923 PA1 2,654,308 PA1 2,804,820 PA1 2,933,037 PA1 3,022,723
While the above patents disclose the basic concept of forming a ventilating bore or passageway, they do not disclose the specific structure of the hay bale ventilator of this invention including the multiple piece construction, the radial ribs and the manner of assembling the components when mounting the ventilator on the plunger of the hay baler. None of the above patented devices were accepted as a satisfactory method of eliminating mold in a bale of hay. Some of them were manufactured, advertised and offered for sale. However, farmers did not accept them as they didn't perform satisfactorily as they didn't make a hole and in some instances the bales curled into the shape of a banana.